Recommendations from Dan McGowan, public relations specialist, CEDIA; Olivia Sellke, account supervisor, Caster Communications; Brian Weiss, senior digital marketing specialist, TrendyMinds; Ed Wenck, content strategist, White Good.
First Things First
Indy (do NOT call it “Naptown,” not ever) is easy to navigate: It’s a big grid with a circle in the middle—literally, Monument Circle—with several spokes radiating out from that midpoint. On the southwest corner of the downtown area, called Mile Square, you’ll find the convention center, which is just north of Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the NFL’s Colts). Beyond that square, the city is broken up into several “cultural districts,” and all the downtown districts are connected by a pedestrian and bike path called the Cultural Trail. If you like to pedal, the city has a tremendous bike-sharing program sponsored by our NBA team, the Pacers.
The districts we’re going to focus on beyond downtown include Massachusetts Avenue (“Mass Ave” to the locals), which is just northeast of the Square, and Fletcher Place/Fountain Square to the southeast. More adventurous folks can check out Broad Ripple—it’s a few miles north and can be easily reached with the city’s express bus service to the Ripple called the Red Line. The Monon Rail Trail, an old railroad line that’s been converted to a bike and pedestrian path, runs from the north end of Mass Ave to Broad Ripple (and well beyond, too).
Now that we’ve got our bearings, let’s start with…
Food, Glorious Food
Downtown
The area around Monument Circle has a lot of options, but a quick walk (or bike or Uber/Lyft ride) yields some marvelous stuff.
• City Market
• King Dough
• Livery
• Patachou
• Shapiro’s Delicatessen
• St. Elmo Steakhouse
• Workingman’s Friend
• Tinker Street
Mass Ave
• The Garage (at the Bottleworks)
• Gordon’s Milkshake Bar
• Love Handle
• Rathskeller
• Roosters Kitchen
• Salt on Mass
• Slapfish
• Yats
Fletcher Place/Fountain Square
• Bluebeard
• Maialina Italian Kitchen + Bar
As CEDIA’s Dan McGowan notes, “We have some pretty good beer in Indiana.” He’s not wrong, and there are many, many breweries, bars, and taprooms to visit while you’re here.
Potent Potables
Downtown
• 16-Bit Bar+Arcade
• Brew Link (downtown Indy location)
• Metazoa
• Nicky Blaine’s
• Platt 99 (Alexander Hotel)
• RAD Brewing
• St. Joseph’s
• Sun King (flagship location)
• Tomlinson Tap Room
• Taxman (City Way Location)
• West Fork Whiskey
Mass Ave
• Chatham Tap
• The Ball and Biscuit
Fletcher Place/Fountain Square
• Chilly Water Brewing
• Fountain Square Brewery
• Inferno Room
• Tappers
• Upland (Fountain Square location)
Broad Ripple
• Broad Ripple Brewpub
• Old Pro’s Table
• Kilroy’s
• The Red Key
• Twenty Tap
Elsewhere
Breweries within driving distance (15 minutes or less): Guggman Haus, Indiana City, Centerpoint, 18th Street (Indy location, actually located on 10th street), Black Acre (Irvington location), and Mashcraft (Delaware Street location). If you’re near Mashcraft on Delaware, you’re not far from Goose the Market and a sandwich called “The Batali.” (Trust us, it’s good.)
Breweries further out, but worth the trip: Bier Brewery (flagship location), Four Day Ray, and if you’re into cider, Ash and Elm.
